dear all,
i feel a little rusty at this journal writing thing, I know its only been a month since we went to edinburgh.but edinburgh was still scotand and the uk, and although it was exciting,it feels totally different writing about somewhere like turkey where everything is different and turning every corner is exciting.
first day impressions, i love istanbul and turkey. Although the journey here was long..5 min bus,half hour wait,30 min train,20 min wait,1 hour train, 6 hour wait,1 hour flight,2 hour wait,3 hour flight,customs,20 min taxi and then finally we were in the heart of istanbul in the sultanahmet district (i remember it cz it reminds me of sultanas).the long journey was definately worth it. We flew with KLM "the flying dutchman" which was a nice change to cheap easyjet or ryanair.."what! a free drink and meal is included in the price!!..even a beer!!"...would definately fly KLM again, they were lovely and flights were cheap.
Were in a 6 bed dorm, at the moment there are only 4 of us, two americans and me and dan.the guy is really friendly, works in cairo,gave us lots of tips and info for going to egypt.
we arrived at 2.30am,and slept like logs and then continued to sleep through our free breakfast.We woke and the weather was sunny, warm compared to scotland (i think it was around 15 degrees) and generally looked gorgeous.we got out to take some photos, the hagia sofia,blue mosque and the topkapi palace are all a 5 minute walk away. It was relaxing to stop and admire the amazing the blue mosque at our own pace,as the crazy tour buses unloaded shuffled everyone along like cattle and then shoved them back on the bus.
The people are lovely, we were walking towards the topkapi palace in front of a small group of students and a girl at the end turned around giggled a little and then offered us a biscuit. We've asked for directions and everyone we have spoken to has helped with a smile, and then offered us a small tulip shaped glass of turkish apple tea, which tastes like warm apple juice but it is really tasty.
We spent a big chunk of today at the Topkapi Palace (the equivalent of buckhingham palace for the turkish). Between 1461-1856 the Turkish sultants have occupied the palace. Its a maze of buildings, schools, libraries, treasuries, circumcision rooms and courtyards that overlook the bosphorus, a huge body of water that separates istanbul. The treasuries housed amazing jewels including a gold cradle, a 86 carat tear drop diamond the size of a small apple and many other jewel encrusted treasures. There was also a room very popular with the islam followers that housed several artefacts and remains of the prophets muhammed and John, including beard, hand and piece of skull. It also housed parts of the kaaba which is a islam pilgrimage site in Mecca. Visiting the palace, and Turkey in general, has given Dan and I an interesting look into Islam,and already a new understanding...and we've only been here a day!
tonight were going to see the Dervish whirlers..I'll explain tomorrow once we have witnessed it for ourselves.
Hope all is well, dan and I are having a great time.
Love jess xo
